Thanks for the link Colin. I wondered if Cook's had reviewed them. I didn't realize Taylor made so many. I use their instant read #508, it's handy and since it's oval you don't have to worry about it rolling off the counter. Thanks again.

Let's see - in my thermometer collection I currently have 1 freezer, 3 or 4 instant read, 2 wireless Oregon scientific (both dead), 2 oven, 3 candy. I've discarded about 6-10 Taylors, Polders and various others - some basic, some fancy, some wireless, some wired. None of them is worth a d*mn. They are inaccurate, take too long to come to equilibrium, fail unpredictably and fatally. The only thermometer which I have found to be reliable is the thermopen. Having typed this I am afraid that it's going to die tomorrow when I have to smoke a huge load of ribs and chicken. I had high hopes for the Oregon Scientific units which are very nice wireless thermometers. They have silly presets which can be ignored. The first one lasted the longest of all this sad lot - perhaps 3 years? Then it failed Thanksgiving eve and I was forced to use the instant (not!) thermometers to roast my turkey. The replacement Oregon Scientific lasted a year. I kept all the pieces thinking I would get a third, but I can only be suckered so many times! As I understand it, the problem is the thermocouple, the most expensive part of the thermometer. Making one that can stand up to regular abuse in home kitchens just isn't that reliable. The maddening part is that once in a while someone gets a gem and tells the world how wonderful it is. Perhaps you can tell this is a fetish with me. I am a scientist by training and nature. I like my data to be precise, accurate and repeatable. Right now I have a probe thermometer which is a feature of the Electrolux oven. It plugs into a socket inside the oven at the top so can't be kinked, twisted or otherwise mishandled. So far (8 months) it's been reliable and reasonably accurate. I check on it with the thermopen because I'm obsessive. BTW dcarch, the thermopen works perfectly well when used in a pan over induction. I used it to check how long the cooktop took to bring water to a boil. It's pretty cool (sorry to sound so geeky) to watch the rate of temperature change as the water heated (2 minutes and change to bring 1 quart of water to full rolling boil). Cheryl

I had several CDN and Taylor thermometers that all died within a year. My waterproof thermapen, while not cheap, has paid for itself over the 5 years I've had it. I'd highly recommend it.

Get one that uses an electronic probe at the end of a cable that can be left in the meat throughout cooking. Usually around $30 or so.